When MC UK Senior Health Editor Ally tasked me with rounding up the best gym bags, I’ll be honest, I was a little stumped. I don’t actually own a designated gym bag myself, you see, and I’ve never gotten on with the classic duffel-style design.
But after a little consideration, I asked myself: do I go to the gym? Yes. Do I take a set of gym clothing, my laptop and other office-related items with me? Naturally. It was then that I realised that my go-to gym bag style tends to be an oversized tote that I can throw my gym leggings, sports bra, running trainers into alongside my work laptop and water bottle.
IMO, a bag doesn’t have to feature bells, whistles and multiple waterproof compartments to classify as a gym bag. For me, the most important qualities of a gym bag are that it’s large enough to hold my essentials, that it has a spare compartment or two to hold my keys, phone and lock and – crucially – that it doesn’t clash with my day-to-day outfits.
We’re pretty scrupulous with our testing here at MC UK (which you can read up on here), so you should know that we don’t recommend products lightly. Every item in this list, therefore, has been tried and loved for at least a few months.
